Article transfer apparatus

ABSTRACT

Article transfer apparatus having a permanent magnet movable in a housing, the housing and magnet being supported by a cable which extends upwardly from the magnet and housing through a carriage movable in an inclined traverse arm between loading and discharge stations. An anti-slack cable system includes a pulley engaging the cable and mounted on an endless belt the opposite end of the cable carrying a deadweight engageable with a stop to limit its movement. At the discharge station, parallel arms carry a plate which engages the upper surface of the housing, to provide movement of the magnet in the housing to discharge articles and to prevent swing of the magnet, the housing and the load. The cable at the loading station passes through a resilient foam disc having radial slits, which brushes objects only loosely magnetically attracted to the magnet.

United States Patent Decker et al.

[451 Sept. 12, 1972 [54] ARTICLE TRANSFER APPARATUS [72] Inventors: Robert W. Decker; Robert F. Mole,

both of Beltsville, Md.

[52] US. Cl ..2l2/84, 214/1 BT, 294/65.5 [51] Int. Cl ..B66c 21/00 [58] Field of Search.....2l2/l l, 42, 44, 84; 214/1 BT,

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 738,193 10/1955 Great Britain ..294/65.5

Primary Examiner-Evon C. Blunk Assistant Examiner-Merle F. Maffei Attorney-lrvin A. Lavine 5 7] ABSTRACT Article transfer apparatus having a permanent magnet movable in a housing, the housing and magnet being supported by a cable which extends upwardly from the magnet and housing through a carriage movable in an inclined traverse arm between loading and discharge stations. An anti-slack cable system includes a pulley engaging the cable and mounted on an endless belt the opposite end of the cable carrying a deadweight engageable with a stop to limit its movement. At the discharge station, parallel arms carry a plate which engages the upper surface of the housing, to provide movement of the magnet in the housing to discharge articles and to prevent swing of the magnet, the housing and the load. The cable at the loading station passes through a resilient foam disc having radial slits, which brushes objects only loosely magnetically attracted to the magnet.

13 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDSEP 12 I872 SHEEI 1 [IF 3 INVENTORS ROBERT w DECKER ROBERT F M PATENTEU 12 I97? 3.690.468

' sum 2 or 3 A w G- I 3 INVENTORS ROBERT W. DECKER ROBERT F. MOLE BY Lm PATENTED SEP 1 2 m2- SHEET 3 BF 3 INVENTORS ROBERT w. DECKER ROBERT F MO A1 'I UNNInY ARTICLE TRANSFER APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertainsto article transfer apparatus utilizing a permanent magnet, and intended for lifting plural articles by. magnetic attraction from a storage container,horizontally transferring the articles, and releasing the articles at a discharge station into a receiver.

Prior art apparatus is known for transferring, by magnetic attraction, small components from a storage bin to a receiver, the construction including a pair of inclined guide members along which an electromagnet is moved from the supply bin to a discharge station, suitable switches being provided to energize and deenergize the electromagnet at the supply and discharge stations, respectively. This apparatus requires structure which is not adapted to be provided as an adjunct to existing equipment, and further is generally complex in the mechanical components utilized to effect movement of the electromagnet; further, it cannot be used without emptying a shipping-container into the supply bin. In other apparatus for transferring articles, an electromagnet is supported from a depending cable, which causes the magnet to be raised with a load of articles on it, and which provides for movement of a chute into position beneath the magnet in its elevated position so as to direct the discharged articles laterally. Such apparatus requires a complex and bulky supporting structure not suitable as an adjunct to existing equipment lines.

In many industrial applications, vibrating bowl feeders are provided which are supplied with a plurality of small parts, and which then discharge these parts one at a time, the parts passing to other apparatus, such as counters. Thereafter the parts may be packaged, assembled, etc. These parts are each usually of very light weight, but are manufactured at a remote location and shipped to the using station in boxes or drums having considerable weight. In order to provide for continuous operation of the plant, the articles must be transferred from the shipping container into the vibrating bowl device, and heretofore this has involved either transferring the articles by hand from the shipping containers to the bowl feeder, or supporting the container on a post adjacent the vibrating bowl feeder. Hand transfer is unsatisfactory because it requires an undue amount of labor and a considerable amount of monitoring in order to insure that the vibrating bowl feeders have an optimum supply of articles, that is, neither too many nor too few. Where an elevated supply container system is utilized, this has required the lifting of heavy containers, which action has either necessitated the introduction into the plant area of a suitable lifting or hoisting apparatus, or has required an employee to lift unduly heavy loads, leading to industrial accidents.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention article transfer apparatus includes a permanent magnet which is mounted movably within a housing, the housing having a floor or bottom against which the magnet may be positioned so that magnet lines of force may pass through the floor and thereby attract a plurality of articles, this being done at the loading station. The magnet and housing are supported from a depending cable, which extends upwardly through a carriage. The carriage is carried in an upwardly inclined traverse arm, and includes a latch which locks the carriage in position at the lower end of the arm, and which latch is released by the magnet housing when it is pulled upwardly by the cable. The cable extends through the traverse arm, and thence into a column which supports the arm. Within the column is an endless chain, driven by a suitable motor.

The chain carries a pulley which is in engagement with I a portion of the cable, and the opposite end of the cable carries a deadweight. Within the column is an adjustable stop element. Oscillating motion of the pulley by the endless chain causes running movement of the cable, first drawing upwardly the deadweight until it engages the stop, thereafter causing motion of that part of the cable extending to the magnet and housing. A resilient plastic foam brush element is provided beneath the lower end of the traverse arm, and as the magnet with its load of parts is drawn upwardly upon movement of the cable, and loosely held articles are brushed away and fall back into the supply container. The cable system described isalways taut so that there is' never a position in which there is slack in the cable system which might cause binding or snarling. At the discharge station, a generally horizontal plate is supported by generally downwardly extending parallel arms, so that as the magnet and housing are moved upwardly beneath the traverse arm while carried by the carriage, the plate engages the housing to thereby move it downwardly relativeto the magnet, thereby significantly increasing the distance between the magnet and the articles held and consequently effecting discharge of the articles due to a lessening of the magnet attraction on them; the parallel arm system prevents swinging or oscillation of the cable suspended magnet and housing, so as to effect generally vertical descent of the articles when released, to avoid scattering of the articles when released at the discharge station.

Among the objects of the present invention is the provision of an article transfer apparatus for emptying shipping containers into receivers, and more particularly for emptying shipping containers which are at substantially floor level into'a receiver at a height above the floor level. Another object of the present invention is to provide an article transfer apparatus which may be positioned in an existing plant, which requires very little floor space and no significant modification to the existing organizational structure. A further object of the present invention is to provide an article transfer system including a cable-supported magnet which is lowered into engagement with articles in a supply or shipping container, irrespective of the level of the articles in such container, and further to provide such a system wherein snarling or tangling of the cable system is avoided. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an article transfer system wherein articles are transferred from a supply container to a receiving container without scattering. Another object of the present invention is to provide an article transfer system wherein loosely magnetically attracted articles are brushed or wiped from a group of articles being lifted by a magnet, to avoid scattering. A further object of the present invention is the provision of an article transfer apparatus including a cable supported magnet element and a carriage, together with means for avoiding swinging of the magnet and load to thereby avoid DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an article transfer apparatus in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view with parts removed showing the cable and actuating systems of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view showing a carriage and latch therefor, comprising a part of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, showing the parts in an alternate position.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional'view taken on the line 6 6 of FIG. 4.

.FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view showing the load supporting magnet forming a part of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of the article discharge station of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, wherein like or corresponding reference numerals are used to designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1 an article transfer apparatus generally designated 10, and comprising a frame including a support column 11 carrying near its upper end a traverse arm 12, which is preferably inclined as shown. A permanent magnet 13 is supported at the lower end of a cable 14 which extends upwardly, passes through a carriage generally designated 16 carried in the traverse arm 12, and thence through the traverse arm 12 past an article discharge station generally designated 17, thence over a pulley 18 at the upper end of the traverse arm 12, and thence over a pulley 19 carried at the top of the support column 11. The end of the cable 14 is attached to a dead-weight 21. The apparatus is used to transfer articles from a loading station, which may comprise a supply container 2 2 to a utilization device 23, which is shown as a vibrating how] dispenser 24 of known construction which causes articles to be discharged into a chute 26, through a counting apparatus 27, and thence through a conduit 28 into a receptacle 29.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there may be seen in greate detail the cable and cable actuating system forming a part of the present invention, there being disclosed therein the magnet 13 carried at the lower end of the cable 14 which extends upwardly over a pulley 31 supported by the carriage 16. The cable 14 may thence be seen to extend upwardly at an inclined angle, the run of the cable 14 between the pulley 31 of carriage 16 and the pulley 18 being within the traverse arm 12 which is not shown in FIG. 2. The cable 14 thence runs from the pulley 18 to the pulley 19 at the top of support column 11, and then over a pulley 32 which is movably mounted. Cable 14 then travels upwardly over a pulley 33, and ends at the dead weight 21. Means are provided for causing the pulley 32 to be oscillated over a substantially fixed path, this means being an endless chain or belt 34 that is trained over a pair of vertically spaced fixed sprockets 36 and 37. Sprockets 36 and 37 and belt 34' are preferably housed within the support column 11, which is in the form of a hollow beam. A continuous movement is given to the chain or belt 34 by means of an electric motor 38 that has a shaft 39, on the outer end of which is a drive member 41 which may be in operative relationship to either the chain or belt 34 or a sprocket, such as sprocket 36. A stop member 42 is provided within the support column 11, to limit the upper movement of the deadweight 21, this preferably taking the form of a furc-ated element attached to the interior of the support column 11 which permits the cable 14 to pass therethrough.

At the extreme pay out position, magnet 13 is lowered into a container 22. As the motor 38 drives the chain 34, the pulley 32, in engagement with cable 14, draws it, moving first the weight 21, which is lighter and the magnet 13. When weight 21 engages stop 42, further motion of the pulley 32 causes running movement of cable 14 leading to magnet 13. At all positions, there is no slackin the cable 14.

Referring now to'FIG. 3, there is shown a cross sectional view of a portion of the support column 11, together. with the chain 34. Supported on the chain 34 by a shaft 35 is the pulley 32, on which there is shown the cable 14.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 6, there may be seen the construction of the carriage 16, which includes a pair of forward wheels 44 and a pair of rear wheels 46, these wheels being supported from a pair of frame elements 47 that extend between the front and real wheelsfThe wheels 44 and 46 are dimensioned and positioned so as to ride snugly within the traverse arm 12, which may be seen in FIG. 6 to comprise a pair of channels 51 and 52 in facing spaced relationship. The carriage 16 includes a latch 55 comprising a pair of spaced latch plates 56. The latch plates 56 are provided with a generally downwardly facing pair of fingers 57, 58 between which the knob 43 of the magnet 13 is received. The pair of spaced latch plates 56 are supported between the frame element 47 on a transverse pivot shaft 59, and at the rear upper end thereof, these latch plates 56 carry between them a roller 61. Roller 61, in the position of the latch 55 shown in FIG. 4, is in engagement with a stop element 62 which is carried on the upper surface of the traverse arm 12. Also carried by the frame element 47 is a carriage pulley 63 mounted on the shaft 64. A spring 66 is connected at one end to the latch 55, and at the other end to the frame element 47, so as to urge the latch 55 in a clock-wise direction as viewed in FIG. 4. The traverse arm 12 is provided at its lower end with a stop 67 which is engaged by the rear wheels 46, to thereby establish a precise position for the carriage 16.

When the cable 14 is pulled, it will exert a force through the carriage pulley 63 on the carriage l6, tending to cause it to move upwardly within the traverse arm 12; such movement is prevented, however, by the latch 55, which is in engagement with the stop 62. When the knob 43' of magnet 13 has entered between the fingers 57 and 58 of latch 55, the latch 55 is caused to pivot against the force of spring 66 on the shaft 59, so as to withdraw the roller 61 from engagement with the stop 62, the latch 55 then taking the position as shown in FIG. 5. Thereafter, further pull on the cable 14 will cause the carriage 16 to move upwardly within the traverse arm 12, carrying with it the magnet 13 and parts, as of iron or steel, which are attracted to and supported by it.'

In order to avoid loosely attracted articles from falling at anunwanted location, a wiper is provided as shown in FIG. 1, and being generally designated 70. The wiper 70 includes a ring 71 carried by a suitable bracket 72 adjustably secured to the column 11, bracket 72 including a slot 73 securing these parts in adjusted relationship. As will be understood, the specific details for providing horizontal and vertical adjustment of the ring 71 may be other than as disclosed herein. Within the ring 71 there is secured a disc 77 of a resilient foam plastic material having radial slits extending from the center of disc 77. Thereby, there are provided generally resilient wiper or brushing fingers in the shape of sectors, which will yield as the magnet and housing 13 is lowered through it, and which will also yield as the magnet 13 with its load of magnetically attracted articles are raised from the supply or shipping container 22. The sector-shaped elements of disc 77 will gently brush away any of the load articles loosely magnetically attracted, causing them to fall back into the container 22, and thereby avoiding any scattering of the articles about the work area, including specifically beneath the traverse arm 12.

The magnet 13 is shown in FIG. 7, and includes a housing generally designated 81, which may preferably be in the form of a four-sided structure having an upper plate 82 and a lower plate or floor 83. Within the housing 81 is a magnet 85 which is mounted on a post 86 that extends upwardly through an opening-in the upper plate 82 and terminates in the aforementioned knob 43, which has connected to it one end of cable 14. A spring 87 is provided within the housing 81, engaging at its upper end the upper plate 82 and at its lower end a plate 88 which is movable with the permanent magnet 85 and the stem 86; plate 88 also serves to guide the magnet 85 in its movement within the housing 81. As will be apparent, when the magnet 85 is in the position shown in FIG. 7, that is, with its lower face adjacent to the lower plate 83 of the housing 81, small iron or steel parts will. be attracted to it in substantial abundance, whereas when magnet 85 is moved upwardly within the housing 81, so as to be spaced from the lower plate 83, the magnet attraction of the load articles will be reduced to such an extent that the force of gravity will be stronger than the magnetic force, and the load articles will thereby be released so as to fall.

To effect movement of the permanent magnet 85 within the housing 81, the discharge station apparatus 17 is provided, being shown in detail in FIG. 8. On either side of traverse arm 12 there is mounted a generally L-shaped bracket plate 91, one such plate being shown in FIG. 8, and the other plate-being substantially identical to it. Each bracket plate 91 carries by means of transverse pivots a pair of generally parallel and downwardly extending arms 92, 93. At their lower ends, the four noted parallel and downwardly extending arms are pivotally connected with a plate 94 which underlies the traverse arm 12 and which has a slot in the left edge (as shown in FIG. 8), for receiving the post 86. The entire assemblage of the arms 92 and 93 and the plate 94 is urged to the left as shown in FIG. 8, by a spring 96.

In operation, the carriage 16 isdrawn by the cable 14 upwardly along the traverse arm 12, and the stem 86 will enter into the slot in the plate 94, which will be in the full line position shown in FIG. 8. Continued upward movement of the carriage 16 will result in the engagement of the lower surface of plate 94, with the upper plate 82 of housing 81 of magnet 13. Continued upward movement of the carriage 16 will cause the arms 92 and 93 to rotate about their upper ends, ultimately causing the arms 92 and 93 to assume the dotted line position as shown in FIG. 8, thereby causing the housing 81 to move downwardly relative to carriage 16 and knob 43 which is held by latch 55 of carriage 16 in the position shown in FIG. 5. Consequently the permanent magnet will be removed from the lower plate 83 of housing 81, to thereby effect the discharge of the load articles which had been magnetically attracted to the bottom plate 83 of the housing 81 and to permanent magnet 85. The movement of the housing 81, and particularly the movement of the bottom plate 83 and the load articles beneath it will be in a gentle arc, so that there is avoided swinging of the magnet 13 in a random fashion which would cause scattering of the load articles when released from the magnet attraction. Consequently, the load articles will drop generally straight downinto a suitable receiver or container, such as the utilization device 23 shown in FIG. 1.

It will be understood that the length of the cable 14 and the length of the endless chain or belt 34 are chosen so that the extreme pull on the cable -14 will result in the carriage 16 being urged no further along the traverse arm 12 than a position at the station 17 generally beneath the bracket 91, and at which the arms 92 and 93 are substantially vertical.

It will be further understood that due to the above mentioned arrangement of the cable and its driving system, as generally shown in FIG. 2, the magnet 13 will descend into the supply container 22 until the bottom plate 83 thereof rests upon the articles therein; further payout of the cable system will result in a descent of the deadweight 21, thereby providing for automatic adjustment of the level to which the magnet 13 descends as the level of articles in the supply container 22 is lowered by sequential removal of groups of the load articles from the supply container 22.

Referring again to FIG. 1, there is provided a level sensor generally designated 101, for sensing the level of articles in the vibrating bowl dispenser 24. Consequently, in operation, the motor 38 will operate in a continuous manner for a period of time so that the cycle of lowering the magnet 13, then raising it, then transferring it along the traverse arm 12 to the discharge station 17, then discharging the load articles, and return of the magnet 13 along the same path again to the container 22 is repeated for a sufficient number of cycles until the level of articles in the counter 24 has risen to a point where that level is sensed by the sensor 101. Sensor 101 comprises a generally L-shaped lever having a downwardly extending arm 102, and a generally horizontal arm 103, the lower end of arm 102 being horizontally extended into a foot portion 104. Adjacent the rear or left end of the arm 103 is a microswitch 106, which is in circuit, in known fashion, with the motor 38. Consequently, when the level of articles in the device 23 is sufficiently high that the foot portion 104 engages the articles, then the sensor 101 will be rotated so as to energize the micro-switch 106, to thereby break the circuit to motor 38, and stopping the actuation of the cable 14. When the level of articles in counter 24 is reduced, micro-switch 106 will be closed to again energize the motor 38 to again cause driving of the cable 14.

Preferably, the micro-switch 106 is in parallel with a micro-switch 107 which is located at station 17, the two micro switches 106 and 107 being in the supply line to the motor 38; Hence, when micro-switch 106 is opened, due to the achievement of a suitable level of articles or parts in the counter 24, on the next cycle of operation, when the carriage 16 has travelled to the discharge station 17, the micro-switch 107 will be opened, thereby causing the halting of the apparatus with the magnet 13 at the discharge station 17. This then provides for between cycle positioning of the magnet 13 at a suitable out of the way location, rather than having the magnet 13 halted in the position as shown in FIG. 1.

There has been provided an article transfer apparatus uniquely suitable for transferring small articles, such as iron or steel parts, from a supply bin or shipping container to a utilizing device, such as an article counter. The apparatus requires very little floor space,

' and is capable of substantially emptying a supply container placed at normal floor level, thereby avoiding lifting of a heavy supply container. A magnet is lowered by a cable, into the supply container, the position of the magnet being automatically adjusted to the level of parts in the supply container, without danger of snarling or tangling the cable system, which would result in a malfunctioning of the apparatus. A wiper or brushing device is provided so as to brush loosely held articles back into the supply container as the magnet is drawn .upwardly, thereby avoiding scattering of parts about the floor of the plant. The articles are transferred laterally by a carriage within a traverse arm, and at a discharge station, the permanent magnet is withdrawn from proximity to the parts, thereby causing them to fall substantially vertically into a suitable utilization device, again without scattering of the articles or parts. The 'level 'of parts in the utilization device may be sensed, and the cycling of the apparatus halted with the apparatus in a suitable position.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

' We claim:'

1. Apparatus for transferring articles comprising:

a housing, a magnet, means mounting said magnet in said housing for movement relative thereto between a first position in which said magnet is adjacent a portion of said housing and a second posi tion in which it is removed from said portion,

a cable connected to said magnet,

support means for said cable including a traverse arm, a carriage movably carried by said traverse arm, said cable extending from said magnet, through said carriage and along said traverse arm,

means for driving said cable to thereby cause said magnet to move from a loading station upwardly to said carriage and thence with said carriage along said traverse arm to adelivery station, and means adjacent said delivery station having a surface matingly-engaging a surface of said housing when said housing is moved by said cable to said delivery station for preventing swinging of said housing,

and for causing said magnet and housing to be moved to said second position as said cable continues to move said housing at said delivery station.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for causing said magnet and said housing to be movedto said second position comprises generally downwardly extending arm means pivoted at the upper end thereof, and means at the lower end of said arm means for engaging said housing.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, said arm means comprising a pair of arms parallel to each other, said engaging means comprising link means pivotally connected to the lower end of each said arm.

' 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said traverse arm is upwardly inclined and having said delivery station at the upper end thereof, said arm means being inclined from the vertical when not engaging said housing and pivoting to a substantially vertical position when engaging said housing. 4

5. The apparatus of claim 1, said traverse arm being upwardly inclined and having said delivery station at the upper end thereof, said means adjacent said delivery station comprising a pair of depending parallel arms supported by horizontal pivots at their upper ends and spaced along said traverse arm, a plate underlying said traverse arm pivotally connected with the lower ends of said arms for engaging said housing, and spring means for urging said plate towards the lower end of said traverse arm.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, and further comprising means for removing articles loosely held by said magnet.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, said last mentioned means comprising yieldable means positioned to be engaged by a portion of the articles held by said magnet.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, and a ring beneath-one end of said traverse arm, said magnet in the lowest position thereof being beneath said ring with said cable extending through said ring, and means carried by said ring for yieldably engaging articles supported by said magnet.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, said last mentioned means comprising a disk having radial slits therein extending from the center thereof.

10. An apparatus for transferring articles comprising:

a frame, a loading station at one portion of said frame and a discharge station at a higher elevation than and laterally of said loading station,

magnet means, means for supporting said magnet means and for moving said magnet means along a path extending upwardly from said loading station and thence laterally to said discharge station,

and means fixed relative to said frame adjacent the upwardly extending portion of said path of movement of said magnet means and above said loading station for removing a portion of a group of articles held by said magnet means.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, said last mentioned means comprisingyieldable means.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, said yieldable means 

1. Apparatus for transferring articles comprising: a housing, a magnet, means mounting said magnet in said housing for movement relative thereto between a first position in which said magnet is adjacent a portion of said housing and a second position in which it is removed from said portion, a cable connected to said magnet, support means for said cable including a traverse arm, a carriage movably carried by said traverse arm, said cable extending from said magnet, through said carriage and along said traverse arm, means for driving said cable to thereby cause said magnet to move from a loading station upwardly to said carriage and thence with said carriage along said traverse arm to a delivery station, and means adjacent said delivery station having a surface matingly engaging a surface of said housing when said housing is moved by said cable to said delivery station for preventing swinging of said housing, and for causing said magnet and housing to be moved to said second position as said cable continues to move said housing at said delivery station.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for causing said magnet and said housing to be moved to said second position comprises generally downwardly extending arm means pivoted at the upper end thereof, and means at the lower end of said arm means for engaging said housing.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, said arm means comprising a pair of arms parallel to each other, said engaging means comprising link means pivotally connected to the lower end of each said arm.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said traverse arm is upwardly inclined and having said delivery station at the upper end thereof, said arm means being inclined from the vertical when not engaging said housing and pivoting to a substantially vertical position when engaging said housing.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, said traverse arm being upwardly inclined and having said delivery station at the upper end thereof, said means adjacent said delivery station comprising a pair of depending parallel arms supported by horizontal pivots at their upper ends and spaced along said traverse arm, a plate underlying said traverse arm pivotally connected with the lower ends of said arms for engaging said housing, and spring means for urging said plate towards the lower end of said traverse arm.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, and further comprising means for removing articles loosely held by said magnet.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, said last mentioned means comprising yieldable means positioned to be engaged by a portion of the articles held by said magnet.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, and a ring beneath one end of said traverse arm, said magnet in the lowest position thereof being beneath said ring with said cable extending through said ring, and means carried by said ring for yieldably engaging articles supported by said magnet.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7, said last mentioned means comprising a disk having radial slits therein extending from the center thereof.
 10. An apparatus for transferring articles comprising: a frame, a loading station at one portion of said frame and a discharge station at a higher elevation than and laterally of said loading station, magnet means, meAns for supporting said magnet means and for moving said magnet means along a path extending upwardly from said loading station and thence laterally to said discharge station, and means fixed relative to said frame adjacent the upwardly extending portion of said path of movement of said magnet means and above said loading station for removing a portion of a group of articles held by said magnet means.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, said last mentioned means comprising yieldable means.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, said yieldable means comprising a resilient plastic foam material.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, said yieldable means comprising a disk of resilient plastic foam having radial slits, a ring supporting said disk, said magnet supporting means comprising a cable extendable through said ring. 